Belief
by SkyGem
Summary: Do you know that feeling? The one you get when you've forgotten something incredibly important, but for the life of you, you can't remember what? Then you think about it and think about it until you forget that you've forgotten? Then in the middle of the night, you sit up in bed, and it all comes rushing back to you, and you wonder how you could've ever forgotten? Slightly angsty.


Summary: Do you know that feeling? The one you get when you've forgotten something incredibly important, but for the life of you, you can't remember what? Then you think about it and think about it until you forget that you've forgotten? Then in the middle of the night, you sit up in bed, and it all comes rushing back to you, and you wonder how you could've ever forgotten? Slightly angsty.

Disclaimer: I don't own RotG.

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Jamie wasn't even sure when exactly it had happened.

All he knew was that one day, he woke up, and he realized just how painfully lonely he really was.

Of course, that was just downright ridiculous.

At twenty-eight, Jamie Bennett had what most people dreamed of; a stable job which he actually enjoyed, a beautiful wife and two adorable children, a decent-sized house in the very same neighbourhood he had grown up in, and enough money to take a nice vacation every once in a while.

More and more often these days, though, the young man found himself falling into deep thought, tuning out everything around him, only to be drawn back out some time later by his children's laughter, or the sounds of his wife cooking in the kitchen. Then he would laugh and look to his left, opening his mouth as if to say something, only there would be no one to say anything to.

It hadn't always been like that.

Jamie didn't know who had been there before, or when they had disappeared, but he knew, with a certainty that almost scared him in its intensity, that there had definitely been someone there before.

"Daddy!" shrieked the voice of a delighted four-year-old, and Jamie snapped himself out of his thoughts just as his son came barreling into him, jumping up onto his lap, which was quite the amazing feat, considering the many layers of clothing he was currently swathed in.

Letting out a chuckle, the man asked, "And just where are you going, that you need to put on so many layers?"

The child just pouted and crossed his arms, saying, "Mama said I had to wear them if I wanted to play outside. Hey, daddy, who's Jack Frost?"

"Jack…Frost?" asked Jamie, an image crossing his mind of lips stretched into a mischievous smile, a contagious laugh ringing faintly in his ears, a sound half-forgotten. Shaking the image out of his head, he smiled and said, "Now there's a name I haven't heard in a while. Why do you want to know?"

"When I told mama I didn't want to wear my scarf, she said I had to, or else I'd have Jack Frost nipping at my nose. Daddy, who is he? Will he hurt me?"

Choking back a chuckle at the site of his terrified son, Jamie ruffled his hair, saying, "Jack Frost is the winter spirit who brings us snow. He won't hurt you, but he likes to play tricks a lot, you see? So you have to bundle up really well so that he can't play freeze your nose or your toes."

"So he won't hurt me?" asked his son once more, a tiny bit of nervousness still clinging to his voice.

"Not at all!" reassured Jamie, "As long as you show him respect, he'll be like the very best playmate you can have! There's only one thing you have to do."

"What?" asked the four-year-old, tilting his head curiously to the side.

"Believe," whispered Jamie into his ear, causing his son to laugh as he kissed him goodbye, rushing out the door to have some fun.

Jamie watched him go, thinking fondly upon all the fun times he and his friends had shared, back when he had still believed.

When exactly had it been that that belief had dwindled?

Jamie wasn't exactly sure, and as the day went on, that conversation he'd had with his son stayed with him.

All throughout his Sunday, as Jamie helped his wife in the kitchen, or read a book in the living room, his mind was occupied with thoughts of playful blue eyes, and strong arms wrapped around him in an embrace reminiscent of a protective older sibling.

Finally, just before dinner, when Jamie had gone to put his book away in his bedroom, it had happened.

A tendril of frosty winter air had blown past him, and Jamie had turned to see the window, which he was sure had been closed until just moments ago, ajar, and with pretty, delicate frost ferns decorating the glass.

Going over with the intent to close it, Jamie was suddenly hit by the bittersweet taste of nostalgia.

A smile gracing his lips which was almost longing in nature, Jamie touched a finger to the delicate frost patterns.

Again, those painfully familiar blue eyes flashed through his mind, his ears picking up the sound of that playful laughter he so ached to hear, and a name involuntarily passed his lips, a name he had said this morning for the first time in almost a decade, but which rolled so easily off his tongue, as if it belonged there.

"Jack Frost…"

There was a clatter behind him.

"Did he just say…?" asked a shocked, disbelieving voice, and Jamie spun quickly around to face the owner of the voice, his heart pounding, his blood rushing in his ears.

Shocked blue eyes and pure white hair came into view and suddenly, Jamie was a child again, standing in his bedroom, begging the Easter bunny for a sign that he was real, and instead coming face to face with the spirit of winter himself.

"Jack Frost?" he asked again, feeling as if he would faint.

"You said it again!" said the boy, echoing his reaction from oh so long ago, his mouth pulling up into a desperately hopeful smile. "C-can you…can you hear me?"

Dumbfounded, Jamie nodded, memories rushing through his mind, leaving him breathless and unable to speak.

"C-can…can you see me?"

Embarrassed though he was to admit it, Jamie felt tears stinging his eyes as he nodded, and he felt his heart break in sympathy at the absolutely ecstatic expression on Jack's face.

Then, before he knew what hit him, Jamie was knocked off his feet by the winter spirit as he wrapped cold arms around him, his body curling into Jamie's own, and the man was struck by just how _small_ Jack seemed.

So much smaller than he remembered.

"You believe again," whispered Jack, and Jamie nodded, holding him closer.

"I never should have stopped," whispered Jamie in a mournful voice, marveling at how their positions seemed to have switched. All those years ago, Jack had always been there to protect him and been there to comfort him, like an older brother, and now, it was Jamie's turn to do the same.

And Jack just shook his head, repeating his words from before.

"You believe."

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SkyGem: Hey everyone! Thank you so much for reading my fanfic! I hope you enjoyed this, and please do leave a review letting me know what you thought, ne? And I'm sorry that this fic is just so…messy. I feel so out of practice, even though it's really only been like two weeks since I last wrote something. Well, that's it for now! Ciao!


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